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In 2017 we honored Annie Lewis-O'Connor, as the IAFN Distinguished Fellow 2017. Nominations are now open for the IAFN Distinguished Fellow Award 2018 and all other annual awards. All awards are presented at the IAFN Annual Conference. Honor your Distinguished Fellow today. Nominations close April 13, 2018

Now is the time to nominate.... RECOGNIZE an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of VOLUNTEERISM for the betterment of the IAFN Its an online nomination form at http://www.forensicnurses.org/awards or go to the IAFN website, look for awards and nominate from there! Nominate now- nominations close April 13, 2018.

Good morning friends and colleagues!
Forensic Nurses Week is slowly creeping upon us, and as we prepare to celebrate and honor our profession and what we have done and continue to do in the lives of so many around the world, I am reminded of just how far we have come since 1992 when those 72 visionaries came together as a collective nursing voice to bridge the critical gap between healthcare and the legal system. Our founding members were mostly comprised of sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) who worked in or closely with emergency departments in that subspecialty capacity. At that time the impact of forensic nursing could not yet be fully appreciated. ...

Greetings from coastal Georgia! I am reaching out to my fellow members to, personally, ask that you exercise your right to vote in our Board election process. As a member, IAFN is YOUR organization, and as a group of members and leaders in our specialty, we are a collective and cohesive voice working to demonstrate the importance of the work we do as forensic nurses, establish standards for those caring for our many patient populations, promote forensic nursing practice consistent with the best available evidence, and, ultimately, improve the lives of those we serve. It is imperative as a professional organization that we actively seek leadership who is committed ...

Does anyone know what the pass/fail rate is for the SANE-A exam? Does anyone have any advice or study suggestions for the exam? Is there a content area that is more prevalent than other areas? I take mine on 9/29! Thanks in advance

Greeting Forensic Nursing Colleagues!
This is Number 2 of 4 encouragement blogs for IAFN's Call to Noms . We have just officially passed the two week point in the Call for Noms. We are still looking for applicants for IAFN Board positions (President Elect, Secretary and three members at large positions). Our current Immediate Past President Sheila early is not running for another board position because her husband is not well. We shall miss her and her openness and warmth and wish the best for her husband's health. If you are committed to IAFN and are willing to invest the 10+/- hours each month to board activities (a little less for the Noms Committee), ...

Dear Colleagues,
It is spring in New England. Cobb Hill Farm in Maine is a riot of greens. It was a long and nasty winter here in Maine. Fortunately your Nominating Committee meets via conference call monthly so we have been able to accomplish a fair amount of work. I want to take the time to introduce the committee members who will work hard to present a well balanced slate of nominees. The committee has three voting members, a BOD, liaison and IAFN's Executive Director Carey Goryl for historical guidance and bylaws clarification. Neither of the latter two attendees have voting power. Dr. Carol Klamser of Homer, Alaska is the senior of the two members. ...

Hope everyone can make it to the first quarterly meeting of the Kansas Chapter in 2015 to be held in Salina on February 11th. The business meeting will be at 10:00, lunch on your own from 11 to 12. Jennifer Johnson will present the CEU on "Gunshot Wounds". Feel free to email with any questions, Amanda Nall amanda_nall@mercyregional.org . Email Amanda with any agenda items you would like discussed. Debbie Marrs debbiemarrs@hotmail.com .

The nominating Committee has been working on edits to the policy for election of CFNC Commissioners and reviewing and updating the policy for the Slate of candidates for IAFN Board Elections. As the chair of the Noms Committee (my nickname for the committee), I have been reviewing the current composition of the Board and CFNC for diversity of specialties, which state members are from and whether we have Canadian members on the board - we do. I am again in awe of the qualifications, breadth of forensic experiences and competence of IAFN's leadership. We should all be proud to have these colleagues serve IAFN.
I have asked board members to speak to their ...

Hello
I have found several different programs requiring different credentialing. When you have a new examiner with no training except for the 40 hour didactic training, what are the requirements for the number of pelvic exams? Does anyone know the number the IAFN requires or what individual programs recommend?
Any assistance would be appreciated

We recently opened a SANE program and utilize the documenation within the kit. The director of medical records is requesting the SANE chart be scanned into medical records. I was wondering what other facilities do, can I maintain chain of custody "which I assume includes the documenation" if it is scanned into the medical records? Thoughts? Thank you in advance for your comments.

Good Morning:
I would like to take this moment to honor the Forensic Team at UPMC Hamot in Erie, PA for their outstanding work. This team takes call 24/7 to respond to victims of sexual assault, child maltreatment, intimate partner violence and suspected child sexual abuse. They teach within the hospital system and in the community and they constantly find ways to make themselves and our program better. They are:
Char Rose
Gina Lesoski
Katie Morales
Vicki Will
Karin Brown
Crystal Sindlinger
Dr. Janet Skrbin
I am so fortunate and honored to guide this team.
Respectfully,
Lisa Simonian, DNP, CRNP, SANE-A
Clinical Forensic ...

Discovered on check in, to my dismay, that my conference registration, done in March!!, was "lost"....had to re-reg this a.m.....thus they can not get me into the tour, despite having paid for it in March. Anyone not going this eve? I will happily buy your ticket. Please call me @ 603-689-8711 Bonni Schumann. Thank you! : )